AHCAI Conference News
We held our first conference on Saturday 9th February. It went off extremely well. The conference was opened by Anne Marie Lee who gave a short presentation on the history and vision of AHCAI.
We wish to thank the six speakers who informed us on topics such as:
- How to provide advocacy for our care recipients by Helen Fitzgerald from SAGE Advocacy;
- What is happening to care in the community into the future by Joseph Musgrave CEO HCCI;
- How to work as a self-employed HCA Michael Harty Homecare Direct;
- The development of a higher grade of HCA through a two-year apprenticeship course by Jonathan Murphy, Griffith College;
- What it feels like to be a care recipient by Sr Patricia Lynch;
- What it is like to care through the medium of sign language by Helena Dunne and Michael Duddy St Joseph’s Residence, Brewery Road for Blind and deaf blind.
The venue suited our needs adequately and we
are thankful to St Raphaela’s Primary School for letting us have the hall free
of charge. The weather was good on the day and Berry Catering looked after us
very well. We had some exhibitors also.
The only disappointment was the low numbers that
turned up on the day. More than 65 of
the people who booked tickets didn’t attend. That could have been a financial
disaster if we were using a hotel in the city.
As this was our first conference we were
learning as we went along. Since everything went so well, we feel we are better
prepared for next year.
Next year’s conference may be held outside Dublin if possible and we
would like your views on the venue and the topics you would like covered so
that we can begin preparations immediately.
Send your views to info@ahcai.ie